WWF SummerSlam Fever (August 19, 1990)

Original Airdate: August 19, 1990 (taped August 15)

From Utica, New York; Your Hosts are Vince McMahon and Bobby Heenan

Smash v Jim Neidhart: I always found it odd when they’d show clips from another show, and have a ‘courtesy of Saturday Night’s Main Event’ graphic as if it was from a different promotion, or something. Smash towers Neidhart, which I’d never noticed before this. Feeling out process to start, and Jim gets control with an armbar. Smash tries forcing a criss cross, but takes a shoulderblock from the Anvil, so Smash pounds him into the corner. Smash unloads, but Neidhart turns the tables, and adds a turnbuckle smash. Cross corner whip, but Smash reverses - only for it to backfire when Neidhart barrels out of the corner with a clothesline for two. Armbar keeps Smash grounded, but Smash manages a bodyslam to escape. He tries a dive off the middle from there, but Anvil catches him in an inverted atomic drop, so Smash drops him into the corner to keep control. Smash with a clothesline, and he pounds Jim on the mat with axehandles for a bit. Backdrop, but Neidhart counters with a facebuster, and he makes a comeback. Dropkick gets him two, and a Russian legsweep is worth two. Shoulderblock knocks Smash to the outside, so Jim chases, and Smash eats the post. Jim with a slingshot sunset flip on the way back in, but Smash counters with a leveraged cradle at 6:00. Basic, but fine. Afterwards, Neidhart steals the tag title belt in response to the cheating, but before Smash can call up Repo Man to help him recover his goods, Ax and Crush run out to do it themselves. Afterwards, Gene Okerlund tries to get words with Anvil, but Jim is messed up, so WWF Tag Team Champions Demolition steal his spotlight to cut a promo hyping SummerSlam. * ¼ 

Kerry Von Erich v Black Bart: Even though I know that Von Erich had been on TV since July, but it still always surprises me when I see him before SummerSlam. Though they never actually said it that way, it always felt like SummerSlam was his surprise debut. Bart tries some cheating to get control, but Tornado quickly fights him off, and hits the discus punch at 2:23. DUD

WWF Intercontinental Champion Mr. Perfect joins Okerlund to talk about facing Kerry, and there’s another thing... I never realized that they were actually hyping the match up, I thought Von Erich was a last minute substitution. Nothing crazy, but a solid hype promo from Perfect here

Warlord v Pez Whatley: They’ve got some solid enhancement talent for this show tonight. And speaking of ‘solid,’ Warlord looks like he’s got boulders implanted under his skin, or something. Meanwhile, Heenan takes shots at Big Boss Man on commentary, showing how long term their booking plans used to be once upon a time. Like, we haven’t even gotten to SummerSlam yet, and they’re already starting to think towards WrestleMania. Warlord with a running powerslam at 2:46. DUD

Rick Rude is in the gym, training for his title shot against WWF Champion Ultimate Warrior at SummerSlam. Funny moment as a hyped up Rude beats on Bobby Heenan in the corner like Jake and Joey LaMotta

Gene brings WWF Champion Ultimate Warrior out to hype his side of the SummerSlam cage match, and it’s pretty garbage, to be honest. He was a great character to a point, but as the guy to build an entire promotion around? Just the wrong choice, his stuff was too over the top, and didn’t connect in the way the head of a promotion should

Previously, on an episode of the Brother Love Show, Nikolai Volkoff defected to the United States, and Jim Duggan welcomed him with open arms ‘on behalf of George Bush.’ And then, on TV another week, the Boy Scouts gave Nikolai a medal, and then make his say the Pledge of Allegiance to make sure he gets the message

Nikolai Volkoff v Boris Zhukov: It’s kind of sad that these two couldn’t make the cut for the pay per view with their tag team breakup blowoff. Boris attacks from behind, but Volkoff turns the tables in the corner, and cross corner whips him. Boris ends up on the outside, so Volkoff chases, and smashes his face into the apron, then bodyslams him on the floor. Boris beats the count, so Volkoff chokes him in the corner, but Boris goes to the eyes. Backdrop, but Volkoff blocks with a facebuster, and adds a backdrop of his own. Whip into the corner rebounds Boris into a clothesline, and that’s enough at 1:55. This was okay for what it was, mostly owing to its abbreviated runtime. Any longer, and this would have likely fallen flat on its face. Volkoff was moving like he was about a hundred years old here too, and you’d think this would be near the end of his career, but he was still in the WWF nearly five years after this! ½*

Gene brings Sensational Sherri and Randy Savage out, and what’s up with Sherri’s Cats look? And, it’s not even a ‘sexy cat’ look. It just makes her look like she has facial hair. A lot of facial hair. She and Savage don’t have a whole lot to work with here, but these two can craft a decent promo out of thin air, so it’s fine

Over the weekend on Superstars, Tugboat was squashing some jobber, when Dino Bravo runs in for the DQ. He beats Tugboat down, ahead of Earthquake joining the party, and the heels putting Tugboat out of action to take him out of Hulk Hogan’s corner at SummerSlam. They were definitely getting the Earthquake Splash over as a murderdeathkill finisher, that’s for sure. Though, it became just another finisher after the Hogan feud finished, sadly. Big Boss Man makes the save, but too little too late in this case

The Brother Love Show, with guests Hulk Hogan and Earthquake! But without Earthquake, as Jimmy Hart explains that he’s scared. Not scared of Hogan, scared of what he’ll do to Hogan if he comes out. That leaves Hulk and Hart to cut dueling promos on one another, and of course, it all ends in Hogan beating Hart and Love up. Good segment

Power & Glory v Mike Williams and Mark Thomas: Heenan making sure to take shots at Gorilla Monsoon, even when Gorilla is nowhere around, is a bit of his character. Too bad they never had a chance to work together again after 1993. Hercules with a vertical suplex that Paul Roma punctuates with a flying splash at 2:17. This was a pretty energetic squash from Power & Glory here. They were an underrated team in general, and probably would have thrived if they came around in the mid-90s. ½*

Gene brings Sapphire out to talk about all the luxurious gifts she’s been getting of late. Jewelry, Cadillac motor cars, furs - where’s it all coming from? Sapphire plays coy, however, refusing to divulge who is sending the gifts, but noting that she’s falling in love. Heenan, meanwhile, wonders if Sapphire is Boss Man’s mama

Jake Roberts v Iron Mike Sharpe: Vince is very, very excited about Bad News Brown bringing sewer rats to SummerSlam. Very, very, very. 200 pounds of them, you know. The funniest part is, they put this over so big, and then we never even saw any rat at the show. Just a cage covered over in a sheet. DDT finishes Mike at 2:37. DUD

Bad News Brown is getting his sewer rats ready for SummerSlam

Mr. Perfect v Ron Garvin: Perfect's WWF Intercontinental title is not on the line. Sadly, Heenan is at ringside with Perfect for this, which means we’re left with Vince doing commentary all by his lonesome. And, immediately, he goes on weird tangents with no one there to reign him in. Vince’s brain is an interesting place. Perfect tries trading chops with Garvin to start, which goes badly. Ron dumps him to the outside, and Vince is very excited that they’re “mixing it up roughhouse style.” Garvin peppers Perfect with punches, but Perfect manages to throw a knee, and he pounds on Ron. Garvin fires back, giving us a slugfest, so Perfect grabs a front-facelock to cut that off. Into the corner, but Garvin wakes up with more fierce chops, and a big punch sends Perfect over the top. Inside, Garvin hooks a somersault cradle for two, and a facebuster sets up a splash for two. Reverse chinlock, as Vince continues to drool over the roughhousing. Perfect fights out of the hold, and he tries a turnbuckle smash, but Garvin blocks. Perfect responds by hammering him, but a cross corner whip gets reversed, and Perfect rebounds into a right. Ron makes a comeback, but Perfect counters a suplex into the Perfectplex at 5:50. Boy, these two were beating the heck out of each other here. * ¾ 

Gene brings Dino Bravo and Jimmy Hart to gloat about taking Tugboat out ahead of SummerSlam

The Orient Express v Shane Douglas and Sonny Blaze: “Mr. Fuji, or Fuji Vice fame,” notes McMahon. Meanwhile, Heenan goes on a rant about Jim Duggan and Nikolai Volkoff being ‘buffoons,’ which seems to personally offend Vince. Sato hits Blaze with a nice sitout powerbomb at 2:08. ¼*

Earthquake v Jim Duggan: The referee ejects Dino Bravo right away. Posturing to start, until Earthquake can get control. He works Duggan over, and he uses a bearhug. Duggan escapes, and starts making a comeback, so Bravo runs back out for the DQ at 5:31. This was a total nothing match. Afterwards, the heels put the hurt on Hacksaw, and they look for the Tugboat treatment, but Hulk Hogan runs out to make the save before they can crush him. DUD

Backstage, Earthquake and Dino Bravo fume

Backstage, Gene is with Brother Love, who wants to offer SummerSlam predictions. He predicts Mr. Perfect retain over Kerry Von Erich, Demolition retain over the Hart Foundation, Earthquake squashes Hulk Hogan, and Rick Rude winning the WWF Title from Ultimate Warrior. He picked all the heels. I know, I’m surprised, too. I really don’t get Vince’s fascination with this character. He was never interesting, always the worst part of whatever show he was stuck on, yet kept coming back again and again and again - even as recently as 2020

BUExperience: This was a really fun hype show. The general creative direction of the promotion wasn't at a peak during this period, but they were truly great at making you want to see their pay per views in those days, that much is for sure.